Earlier had cough. Throat pain, difficulty breathing. Cause?

Hello. I have recently been sick (probably the flu ), but all I have left is a cough . Now, when I take a drink of cold water, it hurts my throat for a second, momentarily preventing breathing . It s an odd pain. Just moments ago when I was taking a very hot shower, I think the heat irritated my throat and the same pain happened. I literally could not breathe; it felt like the air wouldn t go down. Gradually, after I turned the temperature down, the pain went away and I could breathe again. What could cause this? It almost even feels like something is in my throat.